


Appointment with the Devil

by Lilac_the_wolf



Series: Dance with the Devil [1]
Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Canon Divergence - The Reichenbach Fall, Devil Jim Moriarty, Getting Together, Hell, M/M, Mentions of Suicide, Purgatory, Temporary Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-11
Updated: 2020-12-11
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:28:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28017759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilac_the_wolf/pseuds/Lilac_the_wolf
Summary: Sherlock really dies after he jumped. But someone is waiting for him on the other side.
Relationships: Sherlock Holmes/Jim Moriarty
Series: Dance with the Devil [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2098254
Comments: 5
Kudos: 35





	Appointment with the Devil

Standing at the edge of the building, Sherlock knew he had no choice. He took a brief glance behind him, looking at Moriarty's lifeless body in a pool of blood. Then he looked down. John kept staring at him, shouting his name. Sherlock knew he wasn't the only one looking at him. If he didn't jump, he'd be killed. He took a deep breath. And he let himself fall into the void with his eyes closed. The fall was quick. And it seemed fast to him. He thought he was going to die and he hit the ground. He heard the sound his body made as it crashed on the asphalt. Then nothing more.

Then something. He was still lying on the ground, but it didn't hurt anymore. He wasn't even sure if it had hurt when he died. Died? He opened his eyes. The ground beneath him was no longer the asphalt of the street. It was like sand. Red. He straightened up on his knees before getting up. He felt great. He looked around him. The red sand stretched as far as the eye could see all around him, and he couldn't see anything else. The sky above his head was yellowish, and the wind was blowing gently, at times lifting the sand.

Sherlock was alone, in the middle of a totally unknown place, when he was supposed to be dead. Was this Paradise? Was it Hell? Or something else?

“This is Purgatory.”

Sherlock turned around. Moriarty was standing in front of him with a smile on his lips. Not surprising, considering they were both dead.

“How do you know that?” Sherlock asked.

Moriarty's smile widened.

“You don't look scared,” he whispered, starting to turn slowly around Sherlock.

Sherlock followed him with his eyes but didn't move.

“Should I be scared? Can the dead feel fear?” Sherlock asked.

“The dead are like the living, they just change universes,” Moriarty said, stopping just behind Sherlock.

The detective didn't turn around.

“So we're really dead,” he said.

Moriarty put his hands gently on Sherlock's shoulders, making him shiver.

“You're dead, yes,” Moriarty whispered.

“And what about you?”

“I've come for you.”

Sherlock frowned. Moriarty knew too much about death. Too much for it to be the first time he'd ever faced it. Too much for him to be a normal human.

“What are you?” Sherlock asked.

“I'll tell you when we get to my home,” said Moriarty.

“Your home?”

Moriarty did not answer him. He let go of Sherlock's shoulders and put his hands in front of his eyes. Sherlock didn't have time to protest that he felt something change and Moriarty pulled his hands away, taking a step back. He blinked several times. They were no longer in the same place. They were in a building, and the ground under his feet was stone. The place looked like a cathedral, without the stained-glass windows and benches, and instead of the altar, there was a throne made of black stone. At last Sherlock turned around. Moriarty was still standing there with his hands in his pockets and a smirk on his face.

“What are you?” Sherlock asked again.

He had a presentiment. Sherlock had never been religious, but neither had he found proof that God and everything else didn't exist. And now he was dead, but still existed.

“Haven't you guessed?” Moriarty asked as he approached him until they were separated by only a small step.

Sherlock glanced towards the throne, before staring at Moriarty.

“You're the Devil,” he said.

Moriarty gave him a broad smile.

“I prefer to be called Lucifer,” he said.

Sherlock looked at him silently. Moriarty was the Devil. Lucifer. Well, that explained a lot.

“You don't look surprised,” said Moriarty.

“It's not particularly surprising,” Sherlock said.

Moriarty's smile changed. He looked more... tender. Moriarty reached out his hand and touched Sherlock's cheek with his fingertips.

“Of course,” Moriarty whispered. “Nothing can surprise you, you can guess everything.”

It didn't sound accusatory.

“Why did you bring me here?” Sherlock asked.

“To Hell?”

So they really were in Hell.

“Because you're dead,” said Moriarty. “This is where the dead go, including those who commit suicide.”

“But I guess not all the dead arrive in the Devil's Palace.”

“That's true,” Moriarty admitted.

He started stroking Sherlock's cheek. Sherlock looked at him silently.

“You've got an idea, haven't you?” Moriarty said.

“Several,” Sherlock said.

Moriarty waited.

“You brought me here to make me suffer.”

Moriarty laughed.

“Depends if you like it,” he said.

Oh. So that was it.

“You want to make me your pet.”

Moriarty sighed.

“You're still a long way from the answer,” he said.

And before Sherlock had time to propose anything else, Moriarty kissed him. He pulled him close to him, hugging him at the same time. Finally, Moriarty stopped to look at him without letting go.

“I don't see how my last idea was wrong,” Sherlock said.

“I see you as my equal Sherlock,” said Moriarty.

Sherlock raised an eyebrow.

“The Devil's equal?”

“Lucifer,” Moriarty corrected. “And yes, you are my equal, and that's why I want you to reign by my side.”

Sherlock widened his eyes.

“Reign by your side,” he repeated.

“Yes,” said Moriarty earnestly. “To rule Hell alone becomes tiresome after thousands of years.”

“But... why me?”

Moriarty gently took Sherlock's head in his hands.

“Because you're the most important person I've ever met,” he whispered.

Sherlock couldn't help smiling. No one had ever said that to him before.

“I want to stay with you.”

“Then stay. We have all eternity ahead of us,” Moriarty said.

He smiled back at him.

“Are we going to spend eternity together in Hell?” Sherlock asked.

“Well, if I make you one of my demons, we can spend some time together on Earth,” Moriarty said. “Continue our game.”

Sherlock smiled.

“I'd like that,” he whispered.

Moriarty kissed him again. Sherlock hugged him. They stayed like this for several minutes before separating.

“Do you want to sit on the throne?” Moriarty asked.

Sherlock looked at the black stone seat behind them.

“If you'll come with me,” Sherlock said, smiling at Moriarty.

Moriarty smiled back at him.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to leave comments :)


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